Women's Tennis

W&L's Fleenor, Marshall, Ness Headline All-ODAC Women's Tennis Awards

May 07, 2018

R-MC's Tersigni Named Scholar-Athlete

FOREST, Va. --- Washington and Lee University took home three major honors and five singles all-conference laurels to lead the 2018 All-ODAC Women's Tennis Awards. Top-flight singles player Michelle Fleenor was tabbed the ODAC Player of the Year, while teammate Valerie Marshall earned ODAC Rookie of the Year recognition. Generals' mentor Erin Ness received ODAC Coach of the Year accolades. Randolph-Macon College junior Gaby Tersigni earned the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award from the league's sports information directors.

While plenty of new faces feature on this season's award lists, there are 11 entries for players that earned awards in 2017. Six of those appear on this year's All-ODAC First Team. Lynchburg College sophomore and 2017 ODAC Rookie of the Year Christina Harris earned her second straight assignment to the first team at #1 singles. The doubles team of Aubrey Hawn and Keyu Jin also repeat as first team choices from the top flight. Fleenor at #1 singles and Bridgewater College's Whitney Kiser moved up from last season's All-ODAC Second Team. R-MC's Stephanie Yeager was a second teamer in doubles play last year. She along with partner Olivia Uzer earned a first team selection this season.

Fleenor, a senior from Chattanooga, Tenn., is the third-ranked singles player in the ITA's Atlantic South Region. She capped the spring season with a 12-3 overall singles record, all from the #1 flight. She was 5-0 against conference competition. She went 3-1 in the fall season that included a berth in the quarterfinals of the ITA Southeast Regional Championship. Fleenor went 2-1 against nationally-rated competition, taking down Anjie Kashyap from Johns Hopkins and Cori Sidell from Carnegie Mellon. In doubles play, she was 10-10 overall with three different partners. She went 4-7 with Lauren Hassell and 4-3 with Ashton Jenne overall, racking up a 7-0 record against ODAC foes during the regular season and two more wins in the conference tournament.

Marshall, a freshman from Arlington, Va., joins Fleenor in the ITA Atlantic South rankings as the seventh-rated singles player and pairs this honor with an All-ODAC Second Team selection. She went 11-5 overall in singles matches this spring, including a 6-0 mark against conference competition. She was 4-0 at #1 singles and 7-5 at #2 singles. Marshall squared off once against a nationally-ranked foe, defeating Vinaya Rao from Carnegie Mellon. That victory avenged a loss to Rao in the quarterfinals of the ITA Southeast Regional in the fall. In doubles action, Marshall went 10-5 in all matches this spring, the majority of which came with Lily Horsley at the second flight. Marshall went 4-0 against ODAC tandems with one of those victories coming with Anna Kreynin in her only match not paired with Horsley.

Ness is in her sixth season guiding the Generals women's tennis program. This marks her fourth ODAC top coaching honor combining with the awards she took home in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Her Generals secured their 16th straight and 28th overall ODAC women's tennis title after running thru the league slate unbeaten at 11-0 and posting an 18-7 overall record in dual matches leading up to the NCAA Tournament. Ness currently owns a 119-35 (.773) overall record.

Tersigni, a junior from Yorktown, Va., standouts out both on and off the court for Randolph-Macon. In the classroom, she maintains a 3.97 grade point average as a business management major with a minor in English. A multiple honoree on the All-ODAC Academic Team, Tersigni serves as the President of R-MC's chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) leadership honor society. She is also a member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon (economics), Sigma Beta Delta (business), and Gamma Sigma Alpha (Greek life) honor societies. She earned the Dr. Gerd A. Gillhoff Award as a student who demonstrated extraordinary dedication to the study of German language and culture. On the court, the Yellow Jackets captain went 8-5 in singles matches, all from the top flight. She was 6-3 against ODAC foes. Tersigni was 10-5 with three different partners in doubles play split between the #1 and #2 ladder positions.

For more information, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter on Instagram.